Compromise Me: Chapter 17

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Chapter 17

Arielle was sorting through barbeque take-out when Travis hit the kitchen. She shot him a look and asked, "She's doing your laundry?"

Travis flapped a hand at her and went on through to the garage. Josie stuffed dirty clothes into the washing machine like she planned to shove them straight through to China. "Hey!" he said, closing the door to the kitchen and shutting out Arielle. "I'll have you know that was not what I was trying to do."

She slammed the lid of the machine and turned just enough away from him do he couldn't see her face. "That's a shame," she said in a saucy tone. "I had fun."

"Dammit, Josie! You keep jumping to the conclusion that I have such a low opinion of you -- what are you doing now?"

She moved over to his utility shelf, straightening the odds and ends that gathered there.

"Would you please stop that and look at me?!" he said, whipping her around by the elbow. But then he saw the tears stalled out in her eyes, and he lost his irritation, stupidly saying, "You're crying?"

Josie swallowed thickly, jerking her chin up. She hissed under her breath, "I have a goddamn, f*cking right to cry if I goddamn want to!  I can’t believe I did that!  I promised I wouldn’t!  God, what you must think of me now!"

Travis jerked his hand away from her, those tears scaring the crap out of him.  They always did...women crying.  He hated seeing it.  Even when Arielle did it.  He sucked in a deep breath and pointed a finger at her.  “Okay, first of all...you have to stop crying.  I do stupid stuff when women cry.  The only crying allowed in this house is two-year-olds with tummy aches and boo-boos.”

She actually stopped crying...blinked, and let out a small, wet giggle.  “Boo-boos?”

He smiled at her.  “Better?”

Quickly wiping away her tears, she said, “No.”

“Tough,” he said gently.  “And I wasn't trying to say you are a tease. I was trying to show you that I think something very different about you. I haven't considered you to be like that in a long time.  But you are not listening to me."

She breathed deeply through her nose.  “What would you have me think?  When you toss me on the floor like that?”

“I did not toss you on the floor,” he argued.  “And obviously, I went about my goal the wrong way.  Where the hell did you learn to do stuff like that?  College?”

She looked away as a faint blush stole up her cheeks.  “I’ve actually never done that before...with someone else.  You’re the only man I’ve ever teased.”

“Well, don’t do it again,” he said.  “It’s dangerous, doing that to a man.  The next guy might not be so nice about it.  I have a mind to toss you over my knee and spank you because of it.”

A tiny smile etched across her lips.  “Kinky, Travis.”

“I’ve never been kinky...I don’t like kinky,” he said.  “Straight-up, good-ole kissing is just fine with me.  Which is what I was trying to do.  Kiss you...plain and simple.”

She blinked rapidly and looked up at him.  “Why?”

He stepped back and scrubbed his hands through his hair.  “I don’t know...you get to me.  And I don’t know why.  Maybe it’s the way you smell.”

She frowned cutely and sniffed her shirt.  “I smell?”

He chuckled.  “Not like that.  You have this...scent to you.  All the time.”  He moved forward and lightly traced a finger alongside her neck.  “It’s like coconuts.”

She shivered as his finger traveled up to her jawline.  “I have a body scrub...called Coconut Creme.  Maybe that’s it.”

“Is that what makes you skin so soft, too?” he asked, barely above a whisper.

She swallowed as his body inched closer to her.  “Yes...I guess.”

"Josie," he said softly, "I don’t think anything bad about you...I haven’t in a long time.  This woman I see here, right here, she works so damn hard at trying to be mature and responsible, and sometimes I wonder if that’s really you."  He lifted his gaze to her eyes, and added, “That woman I saw on the floor back there...that’s the one I’m familiar with.  But I like you both ways.  I like just about every damn thing about you.”

And he lowered his head, pausing to give her an out, but she gazed curiously at him, and he kissed her. So soft...so light...so patient. His lips touched hers, danced along her lush lower lip for two heartbeats, then he tilted his head and suggested they deepen the kiss.

Josie moaned. Her hands slid up his chest, and Travis figured that was his cue. He slipped his tongue through her lips...and coaxed her to collaborate on this exploit. He felt her tongue mirror his movements, executing graceful swirls in and out of his mouth, whereas, he had to refrain from consuming her entirely.

Not exactly a simple, plain-ole kiss by any alternate definition.

He backed her into a wall, using the support to hold himself up more than anything. What had started out as an honest, proof-rendering kiss had evolved into something a lot more blistering and frightening. Josie Kirkland wasn’t a tease...not the negative definition of the word anyway. She kissed him as straightforward as a woman could get. Was it her fault he only wanted more? Kept coming back for more? Or was he just teasing himself?

Then she arched into him, from her lips to her knees, and he thought this might need to come to a delicate end before he hiked her up on the washing machine during the spin cycle. With some rather gentle persuasions, he eased out of the kiss and gazed down at her, breathless and mushy-brained. Her lips were red and wet, and her eyes remained closed as she sighed, "Travis...you can’t do that.  It’s dangerous, kissing a woman like that.  The next girl might not be so nice about it.”

He grinned, hearing his words thrown back at him.

She opened her beautiful eyes and smiled, saying, “I have a mind to toss you over my knee and spank you because of it."

“Kinky, Josie,” he said, and she replied with, “I think I like kinky.”

“I think we need to leave this garage before I get anymore ideas,” he said.

Josie glanced at the kitchen door. "Yeah...I can hear her breathing."

Travis looked at the door, too. Shit. He forgot about Arielle.  Not the exact reason he needed to get back to a safer zone, but good enough.

Then Arielle was knocking lightly and calling, "Uh, guys? Y'all going to eat any time soon? I've gone through half this container of coleslaw. Someone needs to take it away from me. You know...I have this really expensive wedding dress to fit into... Guys?"

Josie smiled faintly. "It is a beautiful wedding dress," she said to Travis. "Worth the price tag. We should save her from the fat calories."

"Promise me one thing first," he said, reaching out to her arm.

“What?”

Her skin was really, really soft.  He couldn’t refrain from caressing the inner crease of her elbow with his thumb...a strange thing to get excited about.  Maybe I am kinky…

“That you understand I can’t make you any promises,” he said, dropping his hand by his side.  “This wedding…”  He looked sternly into her eyes, forcing her to look back.  “My son means everything in this world to me.  He comes first.  He always will.”

Josie smiled softly. "Travis...any man who sacrifices just about a world’s worth of everything for his child is worth waiting around for...I promise not to expect empty promises."

Arielle knocked again. "I can hear you talking, sooo..."

Then Josie smiled at him again, slowly, flirty...definitely a familiar smile. And she moved toward him, put her fingers on his chest and walked them down to stop his navel. "But I don’t promise to behave."

"Explain 'behave'," he said, feeling her touch through his shirt...hot and feverish.

Josie shrugged and her hand slipped a little further down, resting on the top of his jean button. Travis sucked in a breath. "You're teasing me again, aren't you?" he asked

She flashed him another crooked smile -- “I’m not a tease anymore, remember?” she said -- and Arielle knocked again. “Do I have to come in there?” Arielle said, but Travis was focused on Josie’s smile and her hand and that light in her eyes.

Then it all ceased...the smile, the look, the touching. Josie inhaled swiftly and clasped her hands behind her. She said, “Sorry...I just couldn’t help myself.”

“I’ll never understand you,” he said, and she actually smiled that delicious, tempting, Kiss-me smile again, and he almost did.  

Arielle called out, “Okay! You guys can’t be doing this with Tristan around! And not in the garage!” And the doorknob twisted, but Josie was already there, opening the door and smiling at Arielle.

“I’m glad we weren’t doing anything,” she said to Arielle, taking the coleslaw away from her. “That would be awkward, with you watching.”

Arielle’s eyes flicked to Travis. “It’s only awkward if I invite the neighbors,” she said, trying for joking and lighthearted, but Travis saw the worried look in her gaze. He shook his head at her, silently telling her everything was okay...when it wasn’t. But he’d been telling Arielle for weeks that he wasn’t interested in Josie, and now this, and she didn’t seem quite as happy about it as he’d assume.

The dryer buzzed as they exited the garage, and Josie turned around quickly, “My clothes,” and smacked into Travis.

They really needed to stop meeting like this. Her hands were back on his chest, and his hands were back on her waist, and other than the fact that their mouths weren’t meshed together, this physical set-up was becoming just as familiar as those damn coconuts.

Josie’s cheeks blushed and her eyes met his...then they slid away, and she was saying, “Excuse me,” and moving around him, while his fingers nearly refused to let her go, but then she was gone from his reach, grabbing her clothes from the dryer and taking them to the bathroom to change.

Travis stuffed his hands into his pockets and turned to face Arielle’s “I told you so.

She said, “You okay?”

“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Because you forget that I know you better than almost anyone,” she said. “And you are not fine.”

I’m fine,” he stressed and moved over to the counter to see what she brought for dinner besides the coleslaw.

“Alright...I’ll drop it. How long has Tristan been asleep?”

“About an hour.”

“He should get up. Or you’ll both be awake until midnight,” she said, but she didn’t go get Tristan. She knew that Trist’s Daddy time was special to Travis, and he wanted to be the one to take care of the boy. Travis dished out a plate for his son and headed to wake him up.

Josie came out of the bathroom when he rounded the corner, back in her own clothes and her hair pulled up into a knot on top of her head. She jerked to a stop when she saw him, but he only gave her a small look and went into Tristan’s room. Josie paused in the doorway, watching him gently coax Tristan to get up. The boy sat up in his little racecar bed and rubbed his sleepy eyes.

“Shosie?” he said, looking at Josie. “You not leave.” Then he yawned and scooted from his bed to go hug her. Travis rose slowly, getting another uneasy feeling in his gut. Jealousy would be a sight better than the odd loneliness he felt seeing Tristan's immediate adoration of Josie. His son should have this everyday, waking up to a father and a mother there for him. He had that now, with Arielle and Sam, but not here, not with his own daddy, and that bothered Travis more than it should. But until Arielle was settled in her marriage and new house, Travis had to deal with his loneliness. He wasn't going to get into a physical relationship with someone, knowing it might not work out. He couldn't do that to Tristan.

Because he knew what it was like...waking up to a strange man in the house with his mom, never knowing if it was safe to get attached to his mother's new boyfriend. After a while he figured out the men didn't stick around for long, his mother always pushing them away when they got too close, and eventually, she pushed him away, too.

Travis wouldn't let his son go through that. Tristan would always know he was loved, he had a mother and a father who cherished him, even if Travis and Arielle weren't together. So, it wouldn’t be good for his son to get too attached to Josie. Tristan wouldn’t be seeing a whole lot of Josie anyway.

Tristan slung his arms around Josie’s legs, who laughed and hunkered down to return the gesture. “I’m still here,” she said to him. “You hungry? Your momma brought some barbecue.”

“Bar’cue?” Tristan asked.

"You like barbecue?"

Travis watched his son think about that, the silent questions and thoughts clearly expressed all over his little face. "Bar'cue has cole'saw," Tristan concluded and ran toward the kitchen. Josie turned on her heels, chuckling at Trist's enthusiasm.

"I'll admit," she said, standing up. "I like coleslaw, too, but that's hilarious."

"Trist will eat just about anything under the sun," Travis commented.

Josie said, "Jak will, too. It must be a boy thing."

"Don't know about that," Travis said, leaving the room. "I'm pretty picky. If I don't like it the first time, I don't go back for more."

She followed him to the kitchen. "That's enlightening," she murmured coyly, and Travis almost turned around and asked her what she meant by that. But it was probably better if he didn't know. She might forget to “behave” again.

After an early dinner of barbecued pork, fried corn on the cob, and what was left of the coleslaw, Arielle and Josie gathered themselves to head back into the city. Tristan wasn't happy about that.

"Shosie not stay?"

Josie looked at him and the panic on his face, and she looked at Travis and Arielle, and said, "Uh...honesty? Or delicacy?"

Arielle cocked an eyebrow at Travis. "What?" he asked Ari. "You introduced them. This is on you as much me."

Arielle rolled her eyes. "Honesty. Travis gets to deal with the meltdown."

"Thanks," Travis said, but he agreed with her. Always honesty...then bargain and bribe your way back to peace.

Josie got down on Tristan's level and looked him right in the eye. "I have to go home now."

Trist said, "No...daddy have home. You not leave."

Josie said, "I have my own home. I have take care of it, keep it clean."

"You clean daddy home."

Travis snorted under his breath, "She already did that."

Josie ignored that and said to Tristan, "All of my clothes are at my home."

And Tristan said, "Daddy have clothes."

"This is hilarious," Arielle murmured.

Josie ignored her, too. "My bed is at my home. I need to sleep, sweetie."

Tristan shook his head stubbornly. "Daddy have big bed. You sleep with Daddy."

Arielle choked a little and coughed, and Travis went to save Josie who was turning very pink in the cheeks. This honesty was getting them all into some dangerous territory.

"Little Man, Shosie has to go home because she has to get ready for the wedding. You'll see her again in seven baths."

Tristan scrunched up his face. "Se'en too much. Two baths."

Travis scrubbed fingers through his hair, and Josie frowned and asked, "Baths?"

"It's how he learned to count days," Arielle explained, done with her sputtering. "Bath time is always at night. He expects it, so we count baths to tell time."

Josie blinked, and then she smiled lovingly and said, "Oh! That's adorable!"

Yes, it is, Travis thought, but frustrating as all get out. Bargaining with this boy was easier when he couldn't count baths...or anything at all.

Josie turned to Tristan and said, "How about this? I'll see you in seven baths, but you can talk to me on the phone every night after bath so you can tell me how many baths we have left."

Tristan looked at her, a little confused by her compromise, and Travis turned his head to mutter in Josie's ear, "Do you have any idea what you're proposing?"

"Yes," she smiled.

"Once he gets it, you'll get a call at seven-thirty every night for the rest of your life...no matter what you're doing or who you're doing it with," Travis described plainly. "You want that kind of responsibility?"

She stared him in the eye. "Yes, I do."

'Why?"

"Because it'll make him happy and get me home...and I miss talking to kids. Jak and the sisters never call me anymore."

Good answer. "Okay," he said and moved back to let her dig her hole.

“I call you?” Tristan asked. “One bath, I call you? Two bath, I call you?”

“Yes,” Josie said. “And three baths and four, and five and six and seven.”

“And forty-se’en-six baths?”

Josie laughed out right. “Yes, you can call me at forty-seven-six baths, too.”

Tristan’s face got serious. “Promise?”

“I promise,” she said, and Travis shook his head. He hoped she knew what she was doing, and he hoped that this wouldn’t come to forty-seven-six baths. Tristan latched onto people like Arielle did...and they didn’t let go easily.

Tristan said, “Okay.” And he jumped into her arms to wrap his little hands around her neck and say, “I love you, Shosie.”

Travis could see Josie’s eyes tearing up as she hugged Little Man back. “I love you, too, Tristan,” she whispered, and Arielle leaned over to Travis and laughingly whispered, “You’re in deep doo-doo, mister.”

That didn’t describe it by half.

*****

At seven-thirty, on the mark, Josie received her first after-bath call. She talked to Tristan for nearly an hour about everything that he’d done since she left Saturday evening. Then Travis put a stop to it and said-- before he warned her again about this promise she made to Tristan-- “He’ll talk to you tomorrow...and I’ll see you on Monday.”

On Monday, Josie got to work, cleared through the morning appointments, and was frowning over the week’s schedule when Travis knocked on her office door. He’d been up on the third floor, working with the contractor on the studio renovations, and they hadn’t crossed paths until now.

“Hey,” he said. “What’s with the sour face?”

She glanced up at him. “I’m trying to figure out when I can get to Conway this week. Mom and Daddy are getting back from Hawaii today, and the kids leave for camp next week, and I need to go home

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